A week before my 50th birthday I received the first letter. An invitation to participate in the Cervical Cancer Population Screening. And shortly afterwards for the breast cancer screening programme. The first examination is done at the GP by means of a smear and you have to make an appointment for that yourself. Since the research is offered to women from the age of 30, I was already familiar with it. However, that was at my old trusted GP with assistants that I had been experiencing for years. However, I have been seeing a new GP for a number of months and that makes the step to make an appointment a little more difficult. You probably recognize it! But don't let that be a reason not to go.
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Let's face it:having a Pap smear is unpleasant, embarrassing and can be painful. You don't do that for fun. But sometimes it is necessary and you have to get over your embarrassment, even if it is not easy. In the end, of course, I made an appointment, I underwent it and afterwards it was not that bad. Fortunately, the result was good, no abnormalities were found. In 5 years I will again receive an invitation for the cervical cancer population screening and then I will again obediently respond to it. I will in any case indicate what you can expect.
Every 5 years around your birthday you will receive an invitation for the cervical cancer population screening. From your 30th to your 60th. Are you 40 or 50 years old and has the research shown that you do not have an HPV virus? Then you will not receive the next invitation until 10 years later.
You can accept this invitation or not. The cervical cancer population screening is therefore a voluntary study that you do not necessarily have to use.
As I mentioned above, you simply go to your doctor for the smear test. Of course you have to make an appointment with them in advance. In addition, you must bring the two barcodes that are on the invitation itself, which are necessary for the research.
In fact there are only advantages. The disadvantages out there are more emotional than any other. Although… making a smear can also be painful. But let's talk about the benefits first.
The smear is intended to check the presence of abnormal cells at an early stage. These abnormal cells can be a precursor of the HPV virus.
The amount of abnormal cells and the abnormality itself is indicated in stages of the HPV virus. They talk in stages PAP 0 /m PAP 5. Where PAP 0 the smear has to be done again because it is not possible to assess properly, PAP 1 is normal up to PAP 5 where it is certain that you have the HPV virus and sometimes even cervical cancer . Treatment is certainly necessary for PAP 5, but also occurs at earlier stages. Want to know more about this? Read Anne's blog below in which she also describes how she was treated.
In any case, make sure that you do not have your period at the time of the appointment, and do not forget the barcode stickers of the invitation. Lost your invitation? You can request a new invitation at Mijn Population Survey with your DigiD.
The smear itself is done with a speculum (also called duckbill). A tool that they insert into your vagina to keep it open so that they can scrape some material off your cervix with a brush. The duckbill is pre-warmed with warm water, making it more pleasant to insert. Really nice is of course different, but that's the way it is. If you prefer to do it yourself, to make such a smear, you can request a self-sampling kit.
The cells they collect are then sent to the laboratory for further research. First of all, they examine the cells there for any HPV virus that may be present. If this is present, the smear will be sent to the Cytology Department for further examination.
If no HPV virus is found, your smear will be stored for a month (just to be sure) and then destroyed. Fortunately, this is the case for 91% of women who undergo a cervical cancer screening programme.
The same day that I had the smear made for my cervical cancer screening programme, I received the second invitation. This time for breast cancer. This survey is for women over the age of 50 and takes place every two years. For me this was the first time I got the invitation. Because of my mother's breast cancer, I had already had my breasts examined before, so I knew what to expect.
This examination is predetermined with place, date and time. In my case I was expected at a location on Hoog Catharijne. If you do not wish to participate, you are requested to unsubscribe so that your spot can be filled by someone else. Fortunately, the examination itself is not as embarrassing as a Pap smear, but it is extremely unpleasant. Your breast should be pressed as flat as possible during the mammogram to see as much as possible on the X-rays. Very logical and necessary, but it does take a while to bite your teeth. Fortunately, the nurse who treated me did her best to make it as pleasant and as fast as possible.
After the breast pictures were taken, I had a few difficult days. When I had not received an urgent message from my GP after a week, I was more or less reassured. If there had been an abnormality, I would have heard something long ago. A few days later, the letter came with the message that the X-rays showed no indications of breast cancer. However, the result does not provide complete certainty. That's why you should keep an eye on your breasts and if you notice any changes, see your doctor right away. And in 2 years there will be another invitation to participate in the Population Survey.
I think it's very good that these studies are being offered and, more importantly, to actually participate in them. What if I later turn out to have cervical or breast cancer and there is nothing that can be done about it? Then I would kick myself for being stupid enough not to heed the invitations of the Population Survey. In addition, 18 years ago, through the Population Screening, my mother was diagnosed with an abnormality, which turned out to be cancer after examination. The nodule was deep, so that it could not be felt from the outside. My mother probably would not have discovered this herself and perhaps it would have been too late if it had come to light.
Because my mother was there early, her breast could be spared during the operation. Fortunately there were no metastases, so chemotherapy was not necessary. Another 24 radiation treatments followed, but she has had few problems with that. My mother is now 71 years old and it is living proof that breast cancer does not have to be fatal. If you get there early enough.
I advise all women who receive an invitation from the Cervical Cancer or Breast Cancer Population Screening to go. It is an investment in yourself and after all it could just save your life.
